1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the invention relate to a solar cell and a method for manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a solar cell having an improved structure and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as conventional energy resources such as petroleum and coal are expected to be depleted, interest in alternative energy resources to replace these energy resources is on the rise. Of these, solar cells are attracting considerable attention as next generation cells which convert solar energy into electrical energy.
Such a solar cell may be manufactured by forming conductive type regions and electrodes electrically connected thereto on a semiconductor substrate in order to enable photoelectric conversion. In addition, the solar cell may include a passivation film for passivating a conductive type region, an anti-reflective film for preventing reflection and the like in order to improve properties of solar cells.
In this regard, in the production of conductive type regions having different conductive types, conductive type regions which are electrically connected to each other also physically contact each other, thus causing unnecessary short-circuit. As a result, reliability of solar cells may be deteriorated. To prevent such deterioration in reliability, conductive type regions are formed and an isolation portion is then separately formed on the front surface of a semiconductor substrate by irradiation with a laser or by etching. However, this method involves an additional manufacturing process, thus causing deterioration in productivity, and reducing an effective area due to the isolation portion formed on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and resulting in deterioration in efficiency of the solar cells.